Pocket-knife for cutting tobacco



' (No Model.)

O. S. HARMON.

POCKET KNIFE FOR CUTTING TOBACCO.

No. 276,813. 1 Patented May 1,1883.

UNIT STATEs oRvmLE s. HARMON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO r.LORILLARD & 00., OF JERSEY cnrv, NEW .JEEsE POCKET-KNIFE FORiCUTTlN GToBAooo.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 976,813, dated May 1,1883.

i Application filed January 19,1883. (Noinodeh) -To all whom it mayconcerni Be it known that I, ORVILLE S. HARMON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residingin the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTobacco-Cutters, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

Figurel represents the tobacco-cutter closed. Fig. 2 represents thecutting-blade as opened in position to be used, and also shows theguard, which, combined with the blade, constitutes the tobacco-cutter,opened half-way, thus illustrating the independent use of the bladewithout the guard. Fig. 3 illustrates by a perspective view a plug oftobacco being out by this instrument, the blade and guard being in theirproper co-operative relation; and Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the bladeand guard.

Among those who use plug-tobacco, or such as is packed hard and requiresto be shaved orcut up into small pieces or shavings, either for chewingpurposes or to enable the tobacco to be readily reduced to propercondition to be smoked in a pipe, a want has long been felt for somepocket-instrument which would enable such a treatment of theplug-tobacco to be readily accomplished. The common practice is to usean ordinary pocket knife but with that instrument the depth of the cutin the tobacco cannot be regulated, and the liability of either breakingthe instrument or cutting the hand of the user is very great.

The object of this invention is to provide a pocket tobacco-cutter thatshall combine within itself the means of cutting plug or similar tobaccointo shavings or shreds, and at the same time be capable of use as anordinary pocket-knife or cutting-instrument.

It is composed, as will be seen by an inspection of the drawings, of ahandle, 0, constructed as is common in pocket-knives, and provided withthe springs and bearings for two folding blades, each of which iscapable of'beingclosed into the recess in the handle, as in Fig. 1, whenthe cutter is to be carried in the pocket, and independently opened, soas to extend from the handle, as shown in the case of the blade A inFig. 2, where the same is in position to be used for the ordinary pur'shredding the same, the guard 13, which is a blade properly shaped to beextended parallel with the blade A, so as to coact therewith as a.guard, limiting the depth of out which the blade shall make, is pivotedin the handle and.

provided with a spring in the same manner as is the blade A. To properlyconfine it at a proper distance from the cutting-edge of the blade A, sothat it may resist any spreadingpressure which will result fromthewedging of the shaving of tobacco between said blade and the guard,the latter is preferably provided with a turned-over forward end,2,hooked in form, so as to embrace the point of the blade A, and thus holdthe guard at proper distance from the blade or in proper corelationthereto. This guard is provided with the usual thumb-slot common inblades pivoted in handles so as to fold or close within the handle, andits construction is such that while it will engage the blade, as justdescribed, when itis brought into use, the said blade may beindependently opened from the handle and extended to be used as anordinary cutting-instrument.

If the blade and guard are made sufficiently stiff, the hook 2 upon theend of the latter may be omitted, and in such case the guard may, ifdesired, be made shorter than the blade, so as to allow a second shortblade to be pivoted at the opposite end of the handle. The guard, also,need not always be made to fold inside the handle. In some cases it maybe desirable to have it fold over, so as to lie upon the outside of thehandle; or in some cases it may be made so that when closed it willconstitute one side of the handle. The guard or blade, or both, may,instead of being pivoted to the end of the handle, be made to close bysliding or telescoping into the latter. The edge b of the guard may bemade to extend to any desired distance beyond the edge of the blade, ormay be made so as to be only flush therewith. This edge may also he ofany desired configuration, either square or rounded, as shown in Fig.4.; or it may be made ICO chisel or wedge shaped, if preferred.

This implement, in any of its forms, will be foiind of great practicalutility with consumers of plug-tobacco, especially such as use the samefor smoking purposes, for the reason that it combines in one instrumenta knife for orfor converting it into ashaving-instrument for" thepurposes designated.

What I claim is-- 1. The combination, with the handle 0, of the blade Aand guard B, and means whereby both blade and guard can independently ofeach other be closed within or against sait handle, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with the handle, of the pivoted blade and pivotedguard, the latter having a hooked end for engagement with the former,and both beingcapable of foldin g within the handle, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing wit- HBSSBS.

ORVILLE s. HARMON.

Witnesses:

T. H. PALMER, J. A. HoVEY.

